Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fresh Fig Refrigerator Jam

Seems like I just planted my Celeste fig tree but it's been more than 4 years already. I planted it in honor of my mama not long after Hurricane Katrina made me a full time homemaker and well, blogger of southern food too I guess now! You can read more about Mama's fig tree on my recipe for a delicious lemon poppy seed fig glazed cake. The cake there is "glazed," or really just topped to be honest, with nothing more than a thicker form of refrigerator jam.

I didn't post this jam before now because frankly I pretty much thought that figs had played out and it wouldn't really be much use to anybody but me. Then a few people mentioned on the Facebook page that they are only now beginning to pick figs and looking for recipes for fig jams, so I guess it might be helpful after all!

Truthfully, other than eating them plain, and maybe stuffing a few, this simple refrigerator jam is really the only way that I ever prepare figs to be honest. It's simple and tasty. At this point I still don't get enough of a harvest to bother with preserving them using a canning method, though you certainly can. It requires a longer and more involved process to make shelf-stable preserves though, so if you plan on preserving, be sure to follow a recipe specific to that, and not this recipe. This is not a canning recipe.

Hey, while you're here, check out these stuffed figs I came up with. Pretty good little bite-sized morsels of goodness I have to say!

I think my tree grew at least 3 or 4 feet more from last year and she yielded plenty of figs this year - enough for the birds and me for a change! This bowl was from my first harvest of the tree. I decided to chop up this batch for jam, while the second batch of jam, I simply stemmed and sliced the figs in half. Either way will work.

Easy as can be from here. Simply dump in the sugar, add a bit of water and give it a good stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced and thickened - usually between 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes a little longer. If you like a little lemon for flavor, as I do, add it here, stir in and cook another minute.

Let cool, place into a container and store sealed in the refrigerator.

If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!

Trim off stems and chop figs. Add them to a saucepan, sprinkle with sugar and stir in water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 45 minutes to an hour, or a little longer. Stir in the lemon juice and cook another minute. Let cool, place into a container and store sealed in the refrigerator. Use on biscuits, toast, scones, over pancakes, waffles or French toast, in, between and on cakes, as a condiment with crackers and a cheese tray, over ice cream, and even on sandwiches.

Makes about 2 pints

Important: These is an un-processed jam and it must be stored in the refrigerator. Without processing this jam is not a shelf-stable item. Preserving figs requires a longer and more involved process to make them shelf stable. Consult a canning resource for a recipe.

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17 comments:

Dang, I was looking forward to a pretty good crop from my 3yr old trees this year. The last frost in April was around zero and the trees froze to the ground. Now they are starting all over from roots :( but only two of three.Your jam looks yummy, Recipe will go into the box- I won't forget.

The crows and squirrels and other birds are eating mine this year. I have so many jars in the pantry right now and dried figs in the freezer that I am just not motivated to put up any this year. The tree is loaded! Wish I knew someone to take them off my hands.

love love love fresh figs. My Gram grew her own. the tree would always be full and bulging. -- had to fight the birds to get our share. She use to can them with cranberry juice, then later we'd eat them with her whole wheat pancakes. Gland I found this. Takes me back. Thanks.

Great recipe. I usually don't chop my figs because I like them whole, but they taste good--any shape or size. Thanks for this really easy recipe.It doesn't take long for a fig tree to grow, does it? When we moved to Baton Rouge in 1999, I planted a tree. After my husband passed away in 2007, I sold the house to move to Shreveport. That tree that I planted had just about taken over my small yard. Miss it, but have generous friends and relatives who share their figs now.

I'm making this now - we never ate them fresh growing up - but we loved fig newtons-I mixed brown and turkey for this jam~ also, why don't we have to peel them for eating or jam making. How does the peel effect the jam or does it break down during cooking? just curious

Hey Jennifer! You know... I'm not sure about the peeling thing, although I do think it's optional, so you can choose to peel or not. Just a personal preference I guess. I'm not sure if other varieties might do better peeled or not since I have a Celeste tree in my yard. You'll probably get a bit of a clearer preserve if you peel them and a little more fig flavor coming through. I never peel mine and they do break down nicely and taste good to me without the effort involved in peeling.

I am no food storage expert, but if I were to venture a guess, I'd say refrigerated up to 3 to 4 weeks, if you're not going to use it within that time frame, put it into a freezer storage container and freeze for up to a year.

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